Link: The Sorcerer and The White Snake
Summary: Based on an ancient Chinese legend. A man’s love is doomed when he falls in love with and marries a demon (who, in her true form, appears as a giant white snake). Meanwhile, a demon hunter tries to save the man by capturing the demon.
Thoughts: The premise was interesting (explaining why it survived as a legend for hundreds of years). There’s a lot a good writer can do with a man who unknowingly falls in love with a demon. You know the relationship will not work out, but you know neither party will give it up willingly. So the foundational story is a strong and timeless one. Unfortunately this particular interpretation of the story was rather boring. Everybody overacted as if they were in a cartoon, and the dialog was far too straightforward; hardly ever any subtext or style. I can forgive cheap CGI when the story is compelling enough, but the story was not compelling here, so the effects just made me feel a bit sad. The fighting scenes were choppy and bland, and the cartoony film score just made everything worse. Felt like I was watching something made for five-year-olds. Maybe I was?